~The First Night~

I'm woken up by a horn two minutes after midnight. It takes a few minutes for me to realize what the sound is, and several more to remember we have an Autobot in our garage.

I run over to the Hummer before patting the hood lightly. "Sorry I took so long, Ratch…" I smile gently. "What's wrong?"

He sighs heavily. "I apologize for waking you. It is nothing important."

"Ratchet…" I shake my head. "It's all right. I told you I don't sleep much anyway."

"Go inside and get back to bed."

"Ratchet!" I shake my head. "Cut. It. Out. I'm here to help you, which means I'm not leaving." I sigh. "Now, tell me what's wrong, Big Guy. What happened?"

"I…" He sighs softly. "I do not want to talk about it."

"Lockdown?" He nods. "Which time? Was it from before Egypt, or after Chicago?"

"A-after Chicago."

I sigh softly before running my hand along the door. "Oh, Ratch…" I sigh heavier before climbing up to sit on his hood. "Want to talk about it…"

"Not particularly." He sighs heavily. "But—"

I run a gentle hand over the hood. "I won't make you talk about it if you don't want to, Ratch. I'm not like that." I smile gently. "If you give me a minute to get a few things, I can stay out here with you tonight."

"Sheyenne…"

"You need me, and I don't have the heart to turn my back on anyone who needs me, so I'm going to stay with you."

"You remind me of someone I used to know…"

"I think I know who…" I smile gently. "You're talking about First Aid, aren't you?"

"I am." He sighs. "Were you not going to retrieve something?"

I nod. "Right." I run inside and grab my fleece blanket and my Transformers AOE blanket and pillow before running back out to the garage. Ratchet opens the back door when he sees me, and I climb in and curl up on the cot in the back before trailing a hand over the floor beside the cot. "It'll be okay, Big Guy. We'll get through this. Together."

"That's what you think…"

"I know we will. It's going to take a long time, and I know it won't be easy, but we can do this. We have to." I sigh heavily and roll onto my stomach before facing the steering wheel. "Optimus and the Autobots are counting on us to get through this."

I roll over, barely awake, though I jolt up when I feel the metal floor. "Good morning. When is your class?"

"Um… It's at 10:50…why?"

"It is almost 10:30."

"Slag!" I clamber out the back door. "I'll be back in ten."

"I will be here." He chuckles. "I assume I am allowed to drive you now?"

"As long as you're careful, because I don't have time to get the jugs filled up so I can drive myself to class, but I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Sheyenne, I may be injured, but I am not made of glass."

I huff. "You were DEAD, Mister." I turn away, but can't hide the shake of my shoulders as I start to cry. "I-I alm-most…lost you…bef-fore I ever m-met y-you…"

"Hey… Hey…" He sighs heavily. "Sheyenne… I am still here, Sweetspark. He did not kill me, and I have a few vorns in me yet. I'll probably out-live you." He huffs. "You still need to get dressed so we can leave. You cannot be late for class."

"Okay…"